INTRODUCTORY NOTE.

This report was submitted to Secretary Charles D. Norton, at his request, January 9, 1911, the period covered being from September 27, the date that the inquiry began, to December 31, 1910. On January 10 it was transmitted to the President. At the time of its preparation it was not intended for publication, but as a confidential statement submitted for the information of the President, members of the Cabinet, and departmental committees. Having served this purpose the many requests for a statement of the general plan of the inquiry, as well as of the progress of the work, has suggested the desirability of making the interim report as submitted, with slight modifications and references to subsequent circulars, one of the publications of this commission. Further report will be made to the President, and as required by the last appropriation act a report will be submitted by the President to Congress in December, 1911. In March, 1911, the President decided to continue the inquiry through a Commission on Economy and Efficiency, and subsequently selected the five members and a secretary. The names of those selected, with the positions held by them at the time of appointment,

are:

Frederick A. Cleveland (in charge of the inquiry before the commission was organized) as chairman.

William F. Willoughby, Assistant Director of the Census.

Walter W. Warwick, Auditor of the Panama Canal and of the Government of the Canal Zone.

Frank J. Goodnow, professor of administrative law at Columbia University.

Harvey S. Chase, certified public accountant.

Merritt O. Chance, Auditor for the Post Office Department, was appointed secretary.

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INTERIM REPORT ON PLAN OF INQUIRY AND PROGRESS MADE FROM SEPTEMBER 27 TO DECEMBER 31, 1910.

Hon. CHARLES D. NORTON,

WASHINGTON, D. C., January 9, 1911.

Secretary to the President.

SIR: In accordance with your request for an interim report on the progress made in organizing and conducting the President's inquiry into economy and efficiency, the following is submitted:

BROAD CONSIDERATIONS GOVERNING THE INQUIRY.

SCOPE AND PURPOSE AS STATED IN ACT OF APPROPRIATION.

What has been considered as the most general instruction is the act of Congress appropriating the funds needed. At the behest of the President, a paragraph was embodied in the sundry civil appropriation act of June 25, 1910, which, in so far as it defines the scope and purpose of the inquiry, is as follows:

To enable the President, by the employment of accountants and experts from official and private life, to inquire more effectually into the methods of transacting the public business of the Government in the several departments and other governmental establishments, with the view to inaugurating new or changing old methods of transacting such public business, so as to attain greater efficiency and economy therein, and to ascertain and recommend to Congress. what changes in law may be necessary to carry into effect such results of his inquiry as can not be carried into effect by Executive action alone.1

COOPERATIVE POLICY ANNOUNCED BY THE PRESIDENT.

At the first meeting of the Cabinet after the summer (Sept. 27), a policy was announced by the President, and, pursuant thereto, each head of department was asked to appoint a committee of competent experts, already engaged in the service of the Government, to collaborate with the White House staff, and through cooperation to provide both for joint consideration of common problems and for uniformity of departmental action upon subjects of Executive determination. The committees appointed were as follows:

State Department.-Hon. Huntington Wilson, Assistant Secretary of State, chairman; Mr. Wilbur J. Carr, director of the Consular Service; Mr. William McNeir, chief clerk.

Department of the Treasury.-Mr. James L. Wilmeth, chief clerk, chairman; Mr. M. O. Chance, Auditor for the Post Office Department;* Mr. Lawrence O. Murray, Comptroller of the Currency.

1 A similar appropriation for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1912, was made in the sundry civil appropriation act of March 4, 1911.

Mr. Chance having been appointed secretary of the commission, his successor as auditor, Mr. Charles A. Kram, took his place.

Department of War.-Maj. Gen. F. C. Ainsworth, Adjutant General of the Army, president; Capt. Fred W. Sladen, recorder; Brig. Gen. W. W. Wotherspoon; Brig. Gen. E. A. Garlington; Assistant and Chief Clerk John C. Scofield.

Department of Justice.-Mr. O. J. Field, chief clerk, chairman; Mr. S. W. Finch, Chief of the Bureau of Investigation; Mr. J. H. Mackey, disbursing clerk.

Post Office Department.--Mr. Theodore L. Weed, chief clerk, chairman; Mr. Robert S. Sharp, chief post-office inspector; Mr. George G. Thomson, superintendent Division of Supplies.

Department of the Navy.---Admiral Richard Wainwright, chairman; Capt. R. C. Smith; Pay Inspector G. W. Simpson; Commander Philip Andrews; Naval Constructor R. H. Robinson; Commander J. M. Poyer, recorder.

Department of the Interior.--Mr. Oscar Lawler, Assistant Attorney General, chairman; Mr. Don M. Carr, private secretary to the Secretary; Mr. Clement S. Ucker, chief clerk.

Department of Agriculture.-Mr. George P. McCabe, solicitor, chairman; Mr. Jasper Wilson, private secretary to the Secretary; Mr. A. Zappone, Chief of the Division of Accounts and Disbursements; Mr. James B. Adams, Assistant Forester; Mr. C. C. Carroll, chief clerk Bureau of Animal Industry.

Department of Commerce and Labor.-Mr. Robert M. Pindell, jr., chief clerk, chairman; Mr. W. F. Willoughby, Assistant Director of the Census; Mr. W. L. Soleau, disbursing clerk; Mr. George C. Havenner, Chief of Division of Publications; Mr. Roger O'Donnell, special immigrant inspector, Bureau of Immigration and Naturali

zation.

Smithsonian Institution. Mr. W. de C. Ravenel, administrative assistant, National Museum; Mr. H. W. Dorsey, chief clerk; Mr. A. B. Baker, assistant superintendent, Zoological Garden.

Interstate Commerce Commission. Mr. H. S. Milstead, disbursing clerk.

Commissioners of the District of Columbia.-Mr. Alonzo Tweedale, Auditor of District.

Civil Service Commission.-Mr. G. R. Wales, chief examiner; Mr. J. T. Doyle, secretary.

Government Printing Office.-Benjamin C. Vipond, James K. Wallace, and Seward T. Covert.

ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT TO DEPARTMENTAL REPRESENTATIVES.

Addressing the representatives of the departmental committees appointed to cooperate in the inquiry, the President spoke as follows: GENTLEMEN: I have asked you to come into my office to-day because I want to make clear to you gentlemen who represent the various departments, as I have already done to your superior officers, the members of my Cabinet, my deep personal interest in this inquiry into economy and efficiency of the Government which I have inaugurated. On account of the pressure on my time I have necessarily

1 Mr. Lawler and Mr. Carr having resigned, Mr. Charles W. Cobb and Mr. Irving Rittenhouse were appointed, and Mr. Edward B. Fox was added to the committee.

Since Mar. 30 1911, Mr. Willoughby has been a member of the commission.

3 Mr. Soleau having resigned from the service, Mr. George Johannes took his place.

turned over to Mr. Norton the details of organizing a staff of men competent to carry on the exceedingly difficult and interesting examination, but I want to express to you my deep personal interest in the work. I have kept in very close contact with it, and I intend to do so in the future.

While I can not indorse all of the things that have been said as to the amount of money that can be saved yearly by a more economical and efficient administration of the Government, I do thoroughly indorse the proposition that in Government business, as in every other business, a close and diligent scrutiny will lead to economies.

At the very outset, before we can begin our work, we are confronted by the difficulties which arise out of the confused and archaic system of displaying our expenditures. I refer to our estimates. While the law requires that the estimates be submitted to Congress in the usual form this year, I am very desirous that point be given to the purpose of this inquiry by having the proposed expenditures reclassified and thus reduced to a scientific basis, so that there may be some common understanding as to what is meant when appropriations are asked for. At the present time Congress appropriates large sums of money, leaving it to each administrative officer to make his own classification when he comes to expend that money. This practice makes intelligent judgment as to economy and efficiency impossible, and so before we get into the more interesting phase of this work we have to go right down deep and lay the foundation in the forms of the estimates and appropriations. This will lay a burden of extra work upon all of you, but I know how loyally you will respond to it.

My long experience in the Government leads me to believe that while Government methods are much criticised, the bad results, if they are bad results, are not due to a lack of zeal or willingness on the part of the civil servants. On the contrary I believe that a fine spirit of willingness to work exists in the personnel, which, if properly encouraged, will secure results equal to those secured by the best-managed private corporations.

Now, we want economy and efficiency; we want savings, and savings for a purpose. We want to reduce the expenditures of the Government, and we want to save money to enable the Government to go into some of the beneficial projects which we are debarred from taking up now because we can not increase our expenditures. Projects affecting the public health, new public works, and other beneficial activities of Government can be furthered if we are able to get a dollar of value for every dollar of the Government's money which we expend.

One of the disappointing things about being President is that one comes in contact too little with the men down in the service upon whom we rely to do the day's work. I wish I might meet them and encourage them more frequently than I do. I realize that while there are about 50 of you here, you are a very small group. To you and to all your associates in the departments, I wish to extend my thanks for the spirit of cooperation which you display, and with you I look forward to an interesting experience as we inaugurate this new presidential inquiry into economy and efficiency. When we have completed the work, I ought to be able